From lights and lenses to Go Pros and live streaming devices, online camera rental startup KitSplit wants to be a one-stop-shop for creatives. With a just announced acquisition of competitor CameraLends, that mission now becomes easier.

Prior to the deal, KitSplit hosted equipment and tech valued in the tens of millions, representing tens of thousands of individual listings. With CameraLends and its inventory in tow, its cofounders anticipate these figures to increase by 50%, effectively making KitSplit the largest camera rental platform, the company says.

“There are more content creators today than ever before and they all need access to top quality, affordable gear,” says KitSplit cofounder and CEO Lisbeth Kaufman. “The CameraLends acquisition will further our goals of democratizing access to great gear and empowering creators.”

Photo courtesy of KitSplit

At the onset, KitSplit’s objective was to offer freelancers, photographers and other independent content creators a marketplace for finding and renting equipment necessary to complete their multifarious projects. The company's mission and infrastructure was inspired by its cofounders' experiences working in video production. Kristina Budelis, 28, and Kaufman, 30, knew very well how New York City’s creative community keeps in close contact, collaborating with one another and discussing the latest in the industry and as well as trading hardware. Albeit without a formal system for exchanges of their top dollar goods.

Outside of small production houses and the ever-expanding community of freelancers, since launch, large media companies have also signed on to KitSplit. These include National Geographic, Vox, NBC and Hearst, which is its biggest investor. Other funding has come from Lorne Michael’s Broadway Video Venture, Entrepreneurs Roundtable and angel Joanne Wilson.

“Before I started KitSplit, I knew a lot of colleagues renting to and from each other but people felt uncomfortable without a contract or insurance,” says Budelis, a newly minted 30 Under 30 media honoree. Sensing an opening, they conceived and launched KitSplit in 2015 to offer a safer and streamlined process for lending and renting gear. The company, initially focused on offering lenses and cameras, quickly found its users posting what the cofounders call edge tech, or new technology that’s adapting so quickly that it’s being rapidly replaced. Renting this kind of equipment on the platform, rather than buying it elsewhere, has become a growing trend among KitSplit's users. "Formed naturally, over the last year or more, we’re the biggest resource for VR filming in the country," says Kaufman.

Because of the site's model allowing for posting of high-end and pricey gear, including $7,000 drones and $12,000 VR cameras, building a verified and vetted community of lenders was key. The startup initially accepted members to its peer-to-peer lending community one by one, invitation-only, when it existed only in private beta. Now, anyone can join, but KitSplit has a vetting process in place for its growing base of users. Amid the uncertainty of the web, Budelis underscores, "We need to verify that they are a real person."